Fallout 4...

[Longknife]

 

I recall saying YEEEEEAAARS ago that I expect New Vegas to haunt Bethesda titles. May sound dickish, but I'm so glad that's turning out to be true. That bar is ****ing set in stone, I don't expect New Vegas to go away until a decent effort is made to AT LEAST be within the same league.

 

I remember saying it was brave of Bethesda to let Obsidian do it, I totally expected them to school the Toddster.  At first I was slightly let down, I think Fallout 3 destroys it from a world design perspective (also heavy locational advantage, Washington!) but in every other area New Vegas completely excels.

 

 

It's a completely phoned in game, it lacks the heart and soul that Skyrim had. GECK still not out, no news about DLC... probably only a skeleton crew working on it now.

 

Now the question is whether Bethesda's cynicism also has spread to TES. The answer will be there in 2020.

 

I'm currently playing Skyrim again, just to see if rose tinted spectacles were warping my view of Fallout 4...nope, one Skyrim hold has more charm and thoughfulness than anything Boston has to offer.  

 

 

 

Locations I consider to be apples and oranges. There's no denying FO3 makes exploration fun, since wtf I went in the sewers once and found a ghoul named Gallo or Pollo in a party hat guarding a unique flamethrower, and that's the kind of random need finds you expect. New Vegas on the other hand, the locations themselves aren't thrilling, but serve to help make the world feel more immersive, as all the locations make logical sense. You find things about where you'd expect them. Best comparison example is that the Super Duper Market in FO3 makes no ****ing sense whatsoever (it's down the street from Megaton and NONE of the settlers thought to loot it for food and supplies in 200 years? Let alone make it their home instead?) but provides the player with something to explore and have fun with, with plenty of little unique scripts or interactions within the location itself. Meanwhile, New Vegas has a convenience store down the road from the Mojave Outpost with nothing to do in it....but it makes sense! It's down the street from a major settlement, of course it's been picked clean and only has a few items here and there. While not immediately fun itself, I truly appreciate how little locations like this help add realism and immersion to the experience as a collective.

 

 

The other difference is random encounters, and yes, New Vegas could've used these. I simply don't see a reason NOT to include random encounters, so long as their done correctly. The random encounters in Skyrim for example were bad, as they were TOO involved and too flashy. After your 26th old orc approaches you, it just breaks your immersion. But FO3's didn't repeat, or they were simple enough that they didn't feel odd. If done properly, I'd say every title should have these. I think they expressed a desire to have a similar feature, but we all know how time restrained New Vegas was.

[Gfted1]

Im totally sure nobody is interested but: Fallout 4 PC players can beta test upcoming DLC—and keep it for free.

[WDeranged]

Im totally sure nobody is interested but: Fallout 4 PC players can beta test upcoming DLC—and keep it for free.

 

To be honest I feel I've already been beta testing for them sooo I'll pass 

[GhostofAnakin]

 

Im totally sure nobody is interested but: Fallout 4 PC players can beta test upcoming DLC—and keep it for free.

 

To be honest I feel I've already been beta testing for them sooo I'll pass 

 

 

I beta tested the main game, too.  I should get all future DLCs free.

[HoonDing]

 

 

As of right now, three bunches of DLC have been announced, with only one having a description that sounds like a major plot-driven release. "Far Harbor" will launch in May at a $25/£20 price point, and it will ask players to hit the seas in search of a Valentine Detective Agency case on a new island. The other DLC, March's "Automatron" and April's "Wasteland Workshop," will focus largely on companion-related upgrades—dealing with robots and trappable pets, respectively—for the price of $10/£8 and $5/£4.

yeah, time to uninstall

[Longknife]

DLC #1 is Buildable Bots - the Blatant Rip-off Commercialized Version

 

DLC #2 is "this is blatantly a modders resource and we can't be assed to bother giving this any backstory."

DLC #3 is "hi I'm an actual DLC with story content. But don't you worry if you were expecting bad storylines, we haven't forgotten about you! The main storyline conflict involves two of our ****tiest factions ever, where you have to decide between robots, religious zealots, or generic townsfolk that probably function as the blatant good guy choice for those of you too chicken**** to make any difficult decisions for once in your damned lives."

 

 

Also interesting is that it seems stupidly likely that DLC #3 is the result of an executive loving a certain vacation destination (Bar Harbor is apparently the #1 tourist destination in Maine, and having been to Maine myself, the damned state is a common tourist destination for rich northeastern yuppies looking for some solitude) and deciding it needs to be in the game. To be fair, this is more or less what sparked Honest Hearts (cept for the rich yuppy part) and it worked out, though I think part of why it worked is cause Zion is visually so appealing. I question if the location decision for this upcoming DLC is actually wise or well thought-out, or if the logical process behind making Bar Harbor the location is akin to the "hay guiz I saw dis show called underworld n it was good so lets thro away our skyrim vampire lore and maek da vamps be frum underworld cuz i lyk it" inspiration that Dawnguard got in Skyrim.

[GhostofAnakin]

What the hell is with those DLC prices?  Anyone who pays those prices for that crap deserves constant crashes to desktop.

[Lexx]

Compared to Horse Armor DLC, the prices aren't that bad, I'll guess.

[Longknife]

Kill me.

[GhostofAnakin]

Compared to Horse Armor DLC, the prices aren't that bad, I'll guess.

 

$25 for the story content DLC?  $10 for upgradable parts for your robot companions?

 

Witcher 3's first expansion, Hearts of Stone, only cost $10.

 

Ridiculous. 

[Lexx]

That's why I wrote compared to Horse Armor DLC. :> Last time I checked it still cost 2€ or something.

[Humanoid]

Yep, it's still at its launch price.

[Gorth]

What the hell is with those DLC prices?  Anyone who pays those prices for that crap deserves constant crashes to desktop.

I'm taking the wait and see approach. Eventually the whole package will get re-released in some "GOTY" edition (all DLC's included) at bargain prices

[Tale]

$25 for the story content DLC?  $10 for upgradable parts for your robot companions?

Shivering Isles was $30, Dragonborn was $20, and Far Harbor is the largest area they've done for an add-on.

 

Hearts of Stone had barely any new playable area.

 

It's not parts for your robot companions. It's entirely new customizeable companions and a questline.

[GhostofAnakin]

 

$25 for the story content DLC?  $10 for upgradable parts for your robot companions?

Shivering Isles was $30, Dragonborn was $20, and Far Harbor is the largest area they've done for an add-on.

 

Hearts of Stone had barely any new playable area.

 

It's not parts for your robot companions. It's entirely new customizeable companions and a questline.

 

 

Wasn't Shivering Isles considered an expansion rather than just story DLC?  Kind of like the difference between Dragon Age Awakenings and Dragon Age Witch Hunt?

 

Largest area, perhaps, but how about content?  If it's anything like the core game, it's probably going to consist of a big new area to explore, but with the most bare bones quest(s) associated with it.

[Lexx]

And lots of raiders and mutants to shoot in linear dungeons. Don't forget about that.

 

Then again, there probably will be a lot environmental storytelling with skeletons and stuff. Awesome!

Edited February 19, 2016 by Lexx

[Longknife]

Look at the brightside you negative nancies:

 

As long as they avoid stuffing another ghoul kid in the fridge, the writing can only improve from the base game!

[WDeranged]

And lots of raiders and mutants to shoot in linear dungeons. Don't forget about that.

 

My Bethesda fanboyism has been wrecked by Fallout 4's utter lack of RPG mechanics but I thought the dungeon design was pretty good 

Edited February 19, 2016 by WDeranged

[Lexx]

It was. But they are all build by the same pattern. Just as suddenly in every single skyrim dungeon there was that one door at the end leading you outside.

[HoonDing]

Bethseda - making the best and worst game of the year since 1986.

[Amentep]

Look at the brightside you negative nancies:

 

As long as they avoid stuffing another ghoul kid in the fridge, the writing can only improve from the base game!

 

Or they could double down and do "Two Ghouls, One Fridge".

 

[Tale]

Wasn't Shivering Isles considered an expansion rather than just story DLC?

An add-on's an add-on.

[Longknife]

 

Look at the brightside you negative nancies:

 

As long as they avoid stuffing another ghoul kid in the fridge, the writing can only improve from the base game!

 

Or they could double down and do "Two Ghouls, One Fridge".

 

 

 

 

**** that.

 

 

This time there's an entire ghoul family in a fridge. Yep, you open it up and they poor out like a freaking clown car. Then they all wanna look for the youngest sibling of the family, who has spent 200 years looking for them. Their son is a mirelurk now because reasons.

[Darkpriest]

 

 

Look at the brightside you negative nancies:

 

As long as they avoid stuffing another ghoul kid in the fridge, the writing can only improve from the base game!

Or they could double down and do "Two Ghouls, One Fridge".

 

Sounds like post apoc prn

[the_dog_days]

 

 

 

 

Look at the brightside you negative nancies:

 

As long as they avoid stuffing another ghoul kid in the fridge, the writing can only improve from the base game!

Or they could double down and do "Two Ghouls, One Fridge".

 

 

**** that.

 

 

This time there's an entire ghoul family in a fridge. Yep, you open it up and they poor out like a freaking clown car. Then they all wanna look for the youngest sibling of the family, who has spent 200 years looking for them. Their son is a mirelurk now because reasons.

Or they could just go BioWare with the world in a fridge. Shepard: Clearly, in a galaxy with trillions of sapient lifeforms, I'm the only person who can save civilization.